Charles Richard Mayson (born 13 October 1941), generally known as Richard Mayson, is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Mayson was born in Nelson in 1941, the son of Charles Samuel Mayson. He received his education at Nelson Central School, Nelson College, and

Hastings Boys' High School Hastings Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hastings, New Zealand. The school is part of the Super 8. The school was founded in 1904 as Hastings High School. In 1922, it became Hastings Technical School under the leadership of Wi ...

. On 8 February 1964, he married Shirley Annette Schofield, the daughter of Edward Schofield. They had one son and one daughter. After school, Mayson worked as a farm hand (1957–1959), a labourer (1959–1960), a salesman and window display artist (1960–1964), and a radio salesman (1965–1970). He was a New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) advertising executive in 1970 and 1971, and a lay preacher in the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. He joined the Labour Party in his youth and was a member and delegate from the party's

Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of the ...

branch and later was secretary of the

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

branch. He was a radical Christian socialist. Mayson represented the

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

electorate from

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, when he was defeated by

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Bob Fenton William Robert Fenton (9 October 1923 – 10 January 2013), known as Bob Fenton, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Fenton was born on 9 October 1923 at Napier, and was educated at Hastings High School. He served ...

. He had previously stood unsuccessfully for Hastings in the . During the 1975 election campaign Mayson received a threatening letter containing a live

.22 caliber .22 caliber, or 5.6 mm caliber, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm). Cartridges in this caliber include the very widely used .22 Long Rifle and .223 Remington / 5.56×45mm NATO. .22 inch is also a popular ...

round, the third time he had received such a letter. The third letter stated "We've had enough of your kind of Commie lot abour... you're selling out on democracy and you will be the first to get a

.308 The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...

through your stomach." Mayson made a complaint to the police. After losing his seat in Parliament he travelled to

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

to visit former parliamentary colleague

Phil Amos Phillip Albert Amos (4 September 1925 – 8 June 2007) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life Amos was born in Wanganui in 1925, the son of John Amos. He received his education at Otorohanga District High Scho ...

who was living there. Mayson commented that Amos was living the life of a 20th-century version of

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

. Mayson was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. For his recreation, he enjoys tennis, squash, swimming, reading, and spending time with his family.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayson, Richard 1941 births Living people People educated at Nelson College People educated at Hastings Boys' High School New Zealand Labour Party MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1969 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates New Zealand Christian socialists